[Coronary artery disease in Mexican women]. / Cardiopatía isquémica en mujeres mexicanas.

OBJECTIVE: To identify differences between both genders regarding coronary artery disease occurrence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In referred patients for cardiac catheterization we investigated coronary risk factors, clinical diagnosis, associated diseases, left ventricle ejection fraction, and coronary lesions. Data were analyzed by X2 test, Student t test, odds ratio and confidence intervals, a p value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: We studied 586 patients, 409 were men. Women were older than men (59.43 +/- 9.93 vs 56.80 +/- 10.14 years old, p < 0.05). The frequency of coronary lesions in women was 56 vs 81% in men. The proportions of positive nuclear medicine studies (14 vs 16%) and exercise treadmill test (36 vs 28%) were similar. Acute myocardial infarction was the most frequent diagnosis in men (46%) whereas in women it was angor pectoris (57%). Smoking was observed more in men (72 vs 26%) and systemic arterial hypertension in women (65 vs 48%), There were no differences in diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia frequencies. CONCLUSION: Systemic arterial hypertension was the risk factor more frequent in women, where as in men it was smoking. Ischemia induction tests are less specific to identify coronary atherosclerosis in women. In spite of the clinical data, image and laboratory results, we had a great proportion of women without coronary lesions.

[Nonatherosclerotic coronary artery lesions]. / Lesiones arteriales coronarias ajenas a la aterosclesosis.

Atherosclerosis is the most frequent etiology of ischemic cardiopathy. At the present time, the scope of nonatherosclerotic coronary artery lesions has increased, in part, because collagen diseases affecting the epicardial or microcirculation of the coronary arteries are more frequently diagnosed during catheterization. Acquired nonatherosclerotic coronary artery diseases may occur as a primary abnormality or as part of a multisystem disorder and may mimic atherosclerotic disease. In this paper we present a review of the main collagen diseases that cause coronary artery lesions.

[Shunt and short circuit]. / Derivación y cortocircuito.

Shunt and short circuit are antonyms. In French, the term shunt has been adopted to denote the alternative pathway of blood flow. However, in French, as well as in Spanish, the word short circuit (court-circuit and cortocircuito) is synonymous with shunt, giving rise to a linguistic and scientific inconsistency. Scientific because shunt and short circuit made reference to a phenomenon that occurs in the field of the physics. Because shunt and short circuit are antonyms, it is necessary to clarify that shunt is an alternative pathway of flow from a net of high resistance to a net of low resistance, maintaining the stream. Short circuit is the interruption of the flow, because a high resistance impeaches the flood. This concept is applied to electrical and cardiovascular physiology, as well as to the metabolic pathways.

Iatrogenic dissection of the right coronary artery and the ascending aorta secondary to endoluminal angioplasty. A case report.

The authors present the case of a 54-year-old woman with iatrogenic dissection of the right coronary artery ostium and extension of the dissection to the ascending aorta during the intraluminal angioplasty of an obstructive lesion in the middle portion of the right coronary artery. In order to maintain coronary blood flow before surgery, the coronary dissection was treated with the implantation of three direct coronary stents that dilated the stenosis and sealed the dissection of the coronary artery. The aortic dissection needed treatment with the implantation of a Haenoshield aortic graft. During the surgery, it was decided to implant an aortocoronary bypass graft to guarantee the distal right coronary blood flow, given the possible increased risk of thrombosis of the stents because of the large thrombogenic metallic surface of the stents. On the other hand, the administration of anticoagulants and antithrombotic drugs were not indicated because of the intended surgery of the aortic dissection. The evolution of the patient was satisfactory. Causes, frequency, and treatment procedures of this iatrogeny are discussed.

Assessment of a predictive index for coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic valvular disease.

OBJECTIVE: The authors studied the sensitivity and specificity, as well the positive and negative predictive values, of a prognostic index conformed by diastolic blood pressure, total number of cigarettes smoked during the lifetime, severity of angina pectoris, positive family history of ischemic heart diseases, age (years), current cigarette smoking, and total to HDL-cholesterol ratio in order to anticipate the presence of significant coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic cardiac valvulopathy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective, observational, non-randomized, cross-sectional and comparative study was performed in men and women > or = 30 and < or = 78 years of age, with rheumatic valve cardiopathy and who were submitted to catheterization and coronary angiography. RESULTS: We studied 102 patients (61 women and 41 men) 55.63 +/- 9.88 years of age, range: 30-78 years (women 56.09 +/- 11.48, and men 54.6 +/- 11.35 years of age, respectively). The patients had mitral valve disease 30 (29.41%), 49 (48.03%) had mitral valve disease associated with aortic valve disease and 23 (22.55%) had aortic valvular disease. Significant coronary artery atherosclerosis was present in eight patients (7.84%). Sensitivity and specificity analysis resulted as follows: sensitivity, 50% and specificity, 80.85%. Positive predictive value was 0.18 and negative predictive value 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: The index analyzed here is useful to predict cases without significant coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatic heart valvulopathy, but this index is not useful to identify significant coronary artery disease in such patients.

Intraluminal aortoplasty vs. surgical aortic resection in congenital aortic coarctation. A clinical random study in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to compare results of two therapeutic modalities to treat congenital aortic coarctation: intraluminal aortoplasty without endoluminal stent installation (patients in group A) vs. surgical aortic resection (patients in group B). Trans-coarctation gradient pressure was evaluated prior to and immediately after treatment. Re-coarctation, aneurysm formation, in-hospital morbidity and mortality, and complications related to treatment were also evaluated. METHODS: A clinical, randomized, multicenter study was performed in pediatric patients with congenital aortic coarctation. Immediate and mid- to late therapeutic results were evaluated. With regard to statistics, we evaluated event variations by Kaplan-Meier model, nonparametric Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney U test, two-tailed Student t and chi-square tests, and Fisher analysis. Significance was considered relevant when p<0.05. RESULTS: There were no differences in demographic variables, procedure failure, complications, mortality, or aortic aneurysm between groups A and B, respectively. Intraluminal angioplasty and surgical aortic resection were similarly effective in reducing trans-coarctation pressure gradient, as well as arterial systemic pressure. However, differences were found between groups A and B at follow-up. Group A showed higher re-coarctation (50 vs. 21%). Absence of peripheral arterial pulses in limbs was higher in group A (50 vs. 21%), as well as persistence of arterial hypertension (49 vs. 19%); these differences were significant (p<0.05). On the other hand, complications observed after surgical aortic resection were more serious than post-angioplasty complications, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although re-coarctation and persistency of arterial hypertension were less frequent after surgical aortic resection, complications observed with this procedure are more serious than complications related to angioplasty, although these differences are not statistically significant.